Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of SMEs in Nigeria and the Mediating Impact of SMEDAN Initiative Between the CSFs and SMEs’ Success

: The study is deduced from a Ph.D. thesis that investigated the critical success factors influencing SMEs in Jigawa State, Nigeria. Over twenty-one, critical success factors were identified in the literature review as influencing the success of SMEs across many locations and industries, and seven were considered important for this study. Studies confirmed the need to identify the CSFs that apply to SMEs of a location or industry. The federal government of Nigeria focused on developing entrepreneurship and SMEs to trigger socio-economic development, which resulted in many initiatives, including the establishment of SMEDAN to support the development of SMEs to reduce or eliminate their failure, as envisaged by many researchers. The objective was to discover the CSFs that influence the success of SMEs in Nigeria. The study using a mixed approach, considered the SMEs operating in Jigawa State, Nigeria